The sultan of Oman has issued a pardon for about 50 bloggers and human rights activists who were recently sentenced to long jail terms on charges of defamation, cyber-crime or illegal assembly.

The Paris-based press freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said it was "relieved" to learn of the pardons issued by the sultan, Qaboos bin Said Al-Said.

Some 20 of the sentenced prisoners went on hunger strike in protest against their imprisonment and the time taken by the supreme court to examine their appeals.

An RSF spokesperson said: "This is an encouraging gesture for freedom of information in the sultanate… The [Omani] laws on freedom of information, including online freedom of information, must be reformed so that they comply with international undertakings signed and ratified by the sultanate."